Genre: Comedy/Crime
Director: Joel Coen
Starring: Tom Hanks, Marlon Wayans, Greg Grunberg,
Irma P. Hall
RunTime: -
Released By: Buena Vista International
Rating: To Be Advised
Released Date: 21 October 2004
Synopsis (Courtesy from BVI) :
Academy Award(r)-winner Tom Hanks teams up for the first time
with Academy Award(r)-winning filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen
("O
Brother, Where Art Thou?") for this retelling of the
critically acclaimed 1955 comedy, "The Ladykillers."
Hanks stars as Goldthwait Higginson Dorr III, Ph.D., a charlatan
professor who's assembled a gang of "experts" for
the heist of the century. The thieves: experts in explosions,
tunneling, and muscle, and the critical "inside man."
The base of operations: the root cellar of an unsuspecting,
church-going little old lady named Mrs. Munson (IRMA P. HALL).
The ruse: the five need a place to practice their church music.
The problem: it quickly becomes evident that Dorr's thieves
lack the mental capacity to do the job. The bigger problem:
they have all seriously underestimated their upstairs host.
When Mrs. Munson stumbles onto their plot and threatens to
notify the authorities, the felonious five decide to do her
in. After all, how hard can it be to knock off one old lady?
Review:
With Tom Hanks and the Coen brothers, this movie sure had
ensured audiences an enjoyable ride. Heavy Southern accents
from Irma P. Hall and Tom Hanks asides, the movie quickly
settles down to business after a mere 10 minutes of its run,
introducing all the usual suspects: The Mastermind (Tom Hanks),
The foul-mouth insider (Marlon Wayans), The Tunnel Rat (Tzi
Ma) , The TNT expert [J.K . Simmons) and the dumb Muscle guy
(Ryan Hurst).
Every casts in this movie are simply great especially Marlon
Wayans, who extreme foul mouth would puts Quentin Tarantino
to shame! Love him or hates him, this guy sure earns most
of our laughter! Also not forgetting the one who really stole
the movie from Tom Hanks, the relatively unknown Tzi Ma. His
expression sure makes your lungs burst! His brilliant performances,
that we thought could only be pulled off by Jim Carrey sure
going to leave a lasting impression on the audience. Oscar
winner, Tom Hanks had displayed yet another remarkable performance
although it may be hard on most audiences to picture him as
a bad guy. To most of his fan, he is always Forrest Gump:
The Mr Nice Guy who sits on the bench offering chocolates
to strangers, but not an evil satanic-looking gang leader.
However, he seems to be having fun playing the baddie role.
This is a crime caper where twist and turns in its plot are
the sure routine and most of them are almost predictable.
Fortunately the directing style of the Coen brothers had made
the movie hilariously interesting though the finale seems
a bit rush and rather absurd. But overall is an average crime
caper movie that worth the admission price. By the way, do
remember to pay attention to the lines the TNT expert said
at the finale!
Movie Rating: B-
Review
by our guest columnist, StoneApe
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